


Burn The Witch

by Bulletproof_BoyScouts



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Supernatural Elements, Witch AU, Witch Baekhyun, Witch Yixing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7222393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bulletproof_BoyScouts/pseuds/Bulletproof_BoyScouts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun, an innocent witch living in the middle of the city, soon comes to see just why magical beings tended to stay far from the reaches of human kind when a hunter knocks on his door. A witch hunter that is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have so much inspiration to write recently, I thought I might as well start a chaptered fic with some of my favourite themes and see how it'd go! Maybe its a bit of a reflection on the shelf full of magic stuff sitting at the end of my bed that I'm not using, maybe not. (It probably is.) I'm not planning on making it too long, but I'm very excited to see what people think about it :) Please enjoy reading!

“Baek!”

As soon as Chanyeol walked into the obscure little shop, tucked between two far larger buildings on a less travelled city road, the first thing he would always do was call for Baekhyun, who would usually emerge from a backroom that Chanyeol had never been in before. Though, sometimes, Baekhyun sat behind the worktop with his slightly old fashioned cash register shoved on the end, either reading or organising the odds and ends on the shelf behind.

Today Baekhyun didn’t come out right away. There were a few odd noises and the crash of something falling over before he came out, hair looking like someone had run their hand through it one time too many.

“Hey, Chanyeol,” he said, smiling and smoothing his hair back down. “I wasn’t expecting you today, sorry about the mess.”

“It’s always a mess.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “I wanted to come and see you before I went home.”

“Oh? Why?” Baekhyun asked, stepping behind the worktop to gather up some old looking papers that were scattered across it.

“Do I need a reason?”

Baekhyun laughed at this. “I suppose not.”

Chanyeol actually did come for a reason, he needed to buy something.

“I’m looking for something,” he began, leaning across from Baekhyun where the wooden surface was already clear. “My mother’s birthday is coming up soon and you know how she loves this place. I thought I’d buy something for her here.”

“Oh, feel free to look around. You know your way,” Baekhyun replied. He was done stacking the papers and tucking them in a drawer, moving on to wiping the wood down with a dry cloth he kept on a low shelf under the worktop.

“Thanks, Baek.”

The shop was relatively small, but well organised, if a bit dark. There was a definite order about it, even though it looked chaotic at first glance, everything had its place no matter how out of the ordinary it may seem on its own. Books lined one wall, shelves upon bowing shelves of them; from children’s books to old leather bound novels, some faded and dusty, some still as pristine as the day they were made. On the opposite wall there were boxes full of brooches, bracelets, pendants without chains and odd bits of jewellery that didn’t fit with the rest, necklaces and earrings hanging above them from little silver hooks. Next to them the wall was only barely visible through racks of scarves and coats and hats, all sorts of clothing pieces folded neatly below. There were also shelves in the middle of the shop and piles of antiques in the corners. The shelves were fit to bursting with knickknacks and weird little charms that no one ever seemed to buy yet were always missing some time after they appeared. There were even plants hanging from the ceiling and pots lining the tops of every surface that wasn’t being used for something else. If you wanted something obscure; Baekhyun had it.

Chanyeol immediately made his way over to the boxes on the far side of the shop, right next to the windows at the front. He dug around a bit, pulling out a pretty looking brooch in the shape of a beetle that shifted colours when he moved it in the light, but his mother didn’t like insects or anything of the sort, so he put it back again and carried on searching. More things caught his eye, a long necklace with an intricate flower pendant, a pair of small hanging earrings with emeralds on the end, even a light, floaty scarf from next to the necklaces. None of this was what he was looking for though, so he put it all back.

He tried the antiques next, but it was a bit of a lost cause as most of it was either not his mother’s style or broken somehow. Finding the perfect gift for his mother was proving harder than he thought it would. There were too many options in the little shop, too many beautiful, and useless, and downright strange things to look at.

“Are you alright?” Baekhyun asked, after watching Chanyeol wander around like a lost puppy, picking things up every once in awhile, only to put them back when they weren’t what he was looking for. “You look kind of lost, how unusual.”

Chanyeol ignored the jab and just meandered back over to Baekhyun, leaning on the worktop dejectedly.

“There’s too much stuff,” he mumbled, face covered by his hands. “I don’t know what to get her. It’s her fiftieth, Baek, I can’t just get her anything.”

Baekhyun was lost in thought for a moment when Chanyeol peeked from behind his fingers before hurrying into his back room and coming back out holding something moments later. Chanyeol let his hands fall from his face to see what it was.

It turned out to be a letter opener, the body of a wolf making up the handle of the dull blade. There were tiny jewels in the wolf’s eyes that made it look like it was glinting viciously whenever the light caught it.

“You think she’d like this?” Chanyeol asked, not entirely sure it would be a good idea even as he picked it up to inspect it.

“Yes of course she would! I have met her before you know, I know what she likes,” Baekhyun replied haughtily, not very impressed with Chanyeol’s lack of enthusiasm.

“Sure, if you say so,” Chanyeol said with a shrug, fishing his wallet out of his jacket and handing over some money. He was pretty fed up with searching endlessly by then anyway. “If she doesn’t like it I’m blaming you.”

“Shut up,” Baekhyun snapped, no real venom in his words.

“I guess it is kind of cool,” Chanyeol said quietly, turning it over in his hands.

Baekhyun didn’t reply. Of course it was a great gift for Chanyeol’s mother, Baekhyun had chosen it after all. He pressed a key on the old cash machine and it pinged as it opened. Baekhyun was quick to give Chanyeol his change, offering to wrap the gift as well despite knowing that Chanyeol would say no. (“I can wrap it myself, I’m not as incompetent as you think, Baek,” he had said last time Baekhyun had offered to wrap a gift that Chanyeol’s clumsy fingers kept messing up.).

“Are you staying?” Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol looked up from the knife, shaking his head. “I have a lot of work to do so, no, not today. Sorry, I know you love my company.”

Baekhyun scoffed. “Sure.”

“You know you do,” Chanyeol teased, leaning on the wood again, a grin spreading on his face.

“Weren’t you leaving?”

Chanyeol pouted to which Baekhyun pushed his face away until Chanyeol leant back on his own accord and made his way to the front of the shop.

“Bye, Baek!” Chanyeol called from the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to pester you tomorrow.”

Baekhyun just watched as the door shut, the tinkle of the bell still ringing through the air. He could now finally get back to what he was doing before his rude interruption (even though he loved when Chanyeol would come to visit him).

He quickly made his way back through the door at the back of his shop, pushing the slightly too heavy door closed again once he was inside.

The room was filled with smoke coming from the incense he lit earlier, making his eyes water slightly, but not enough to stop him doing it all the time. There were more shelves in the backroom room, every single one with a jar of oddly coloured liquids or a sack or bowl of stones and gems perched on it. There were some books in there too, far fewer than in the main shop and right in the centre a small cauldron stood on a table, wand resting on a spell book next to it. Bundles of plants were scattered all around the table, small vials and bowls pushed into a delicate pile.

“Back to work,” Baekhyun sighed, picking up the wand, little charms hanging from the end clinking together gently. “This potion could have been ruined. Stupid Chanyeol.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calm before the storm? Most certainly. (This hasn't been beta'd because they didn't have time and I'm too impatient to wait for them, so sorry if anything seems a bit off.)  
> Edit: It's been beta'd now, not much is different tho :)

Chanyeol pushed the door open to the small shop the very next day, just as he had said he would. The bell on the door chimed throughout the shop, alerting a fairly sleepy looking Baekhyun to Chanyeol’s presence. He glanced up from his spot, perched on a stool behind the worktop. He seemed to be playing with some stones on the table, but he pushed them behind a basket next to the cash register when Chanyeol approached.

“What was that?” Chanyeol asked. He rest his elbows on the surface and put his chin in his hands.

“Nothing,” Baekhyun shot back, smiling at Chanyeol to distract him.

“Sure.” Chanyeol glanced at the basket, but didn’t take the matter any further.

“What did you come for this time? Is your dad having his birthday soon also?”

Chanyeol grinned. “Nope, just wanted to see my favourite shop owner and his magical smile that always brightens my day.”

“You flatter me,” Baekhyun said, but not without an eye roll at the sarcasm in Chanyeol’s voice.

“Actually, I came because I finished work early today and wanted to see if you were up for doing something,” Chanyeol admitted, now stepping back to cross his arms over his chest. “It’s been awfully quiet since Jongdae hooked up with that guy.”

“Who? Minseok?”

“Nah, Joonmyun.”

“Really? I thought he was still blabbering on and on about the squirrel guy,” Baekhyun said, surprised.

“I don’t know how his mind works,” Chanyeol defended. “All I know is he never has time to hang out anymore. It’s _boring_.”

Baekhyun laughed here, a laugh much too loud for the shop. “You think I’m not?”

“I think you’re not preoccupied.”

Baekhyun turned at that and started unnecessarily ordering his things on the shelf behind him. “Really now?”

Chanyeol snorted, but stepped around the counter nonetheless to smack Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Yes. Please, come out with me?”

Baekhyun looked up at him, seeming to think very hard about what he was about to say. “Uh, no.”

“Baek!”

Despite Chanyeol’s sudden whining, Baekhyun chuckled. He just pat Chanyeol’s arm as he passed him to go into the backroom, returning a few minutes later with a bunch of keys, a wallet and another small bag that Chanyeol didn’t get the chance to ask about before he was being lead out of the shop by Baekhyun, who locked the door behind them.

“Damn, I didn’t think you really would this time,” Chanyeol admitted, stuffing his hands deep into his jacket pockets to hide them from the crisp autumn air. “Usually when you vanish into that room you never return.” He made a show of pulling a hand from his pocket to wiggle his fingers in Baekhyun’s face.

“I do return, obviously, you idiot.” Baekhyun was smiling. “I just needed to get some stuff if you’re planning on whisking me away for tonight.”

“Ever the romantic, aren’t we?”

“I try my best.”

~~~~~~

“Where do you want to go?” Chanyeol asked after they had been walking for some time.

“I thought you had something in mind!” Baekhyun cried. He didn’t seem _that_ angry, Chanyeol thought even as he dodged a slap on the arm. “Here I am, following the little lost puppy around the city.”

“Rude.” Chanyeol stuck his tongue out at Baekhyun, who just reached up to grab it, missing as Chanyeol pulled it back into his mouth with a pout.

They had walked towards the quieter part of the city in their (mostly Chanyeol’s actually) aimless wandering, near the large park where more wildlife seemed to live than would be usual for a city as dense as this one. In the middle of the day there could be screaming children and laughter heard throughout the park, often birds chirping through the mornings, but it was quieter as the sun sunk low behind the tall buildings surrounding them. The lamps in the park didn’t do a very good job at illuminating the path, but the two had been there enough to know their way around.

They didn’t say anything to each other as they walked, even when their arms brushed with every step. Baekhyun kept on glancing up at Chanyeol whenever their arms touched and the taller tensed, which was every few steps, curious as to why the hell Chanyeol was acting so strangely.

“What’s up?” Baekhyun broke the quiet, nudging Chanyeol’s arm gently when he didn’t reply after a few moments.

It was a few moments more before Chanyeol seemed to break out of his daze and almost shouted, “I’m fine! Want to get something to eat?” It was a bit too rushed to be casual, but Baekhyun dismissed it after another few seconds of staring in which Chanyeol’s cheeks and ears started to darken.

“Yeah, if you want,” he conceded. It wasn’t that he was reluctant to finally get some proper food (he’d been surviving on measly snacks since breakfast), but the way Chanyeol was acting alerted him to something that he wasn’t sure he could piece together himself.

“Cool, what do you feel like? I’m sure some of the vendors will still be open if you want that. We could just go to an actual restaurant, though,” Chanyeol rambled, losing himself in his thoughts as they tumbled out of his mouth.

“Whatever you want,” Baekhyun replied quietly, still unsure about what to make of Chanyeol’s odd behaviour.

They eventually settled down on a park bench with peeling paint and a pizza box held between them, half plain for Chanyeol and half ham and pineapple for Baekhyun. Conversation didn’t pick back up past asking each other short questions with even shorter answers. The atmosphere was awkward and Baekhyun couldn’t for the life of him work out why.

Getting tired of it, Baekhyun finally demanded, “What’s wrong with you? You’re acting so strangely.”

Chanyeol froze for a second before relaxing, albeit reluctantly. “Am I not allowed to have a bad day? You always act strangely anyway, so don’t pretend it’s just me. I’m only evening the playing field.”

Baekhyun stared at Chanyeol as the (much) taller man dug into his pizza again, flicking a little bit of pineapple that had fallen onto his share back onto Baekhyun’s pizza.

“Who even likes pineapple on pizza, it’s so gross.”

Baekhyun gasped at that. “I do, for your information! It gives the pizza another dimension that simpletons like you,” he sent a mock glare, no real fire in his eyes, “wouldn’t understand.” Baekhyun lifted another slice of his pizza to his mouth then, taking a large bite and chewing it in the most haughty, refined way one could eat a pizza in a park with only one’s bare hands.

“Alright, princess. No need to get your knickers in a twist.” Chanyeol snickered behind his last slice of pizza before taking a bite when Baekhyun sent a glare his way, this time with real promises of pain if he insulted his pizza again.

They were soon finished with their pizza, once again back to aimless meandering through the park until Baekhyun spoke up ten minutes in.

“Actually, Chanyeol, I have something to deliver,” he began. “Do you mind if we drop it off before we go back?”

“You want to go back?”

“Not particularly, but I need to get this done before it gets too late.”

Chanyeol considered only for a moment before smiling and nodding. “Sure, we can do that now, if you want.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun offered a small smile, hand moving to his pocket subconsciously, like he was worried whatever it was in there would go missing if he took his hand away for a second.

They started walking back the way they came, Baekhyun just a step ahead to lead the way. The walk wasn’t long, only twenty minutes from the entrance of the park towards the shadier side of the city.

Baekhyun suddenly stopped Chanyeol with a soft hand on his chest when they were standing outside an alley. With strict instructions to wait right where he was, Chanyeol watched Baekhyun disappear around a corner. Sure, Chanyeol had gone with Baekhyun more times than he could count to drop off mysterious parcels at strange locations around the city, but why should he think anything of it? It’s wasn’t like Baekhyun was doing drugs or anything-

Was he though? Chanyeol asked himself that question from time to time. Was Baekhyun really just delivering parcels, or was there something far deeper going on here that he didn’t know about.

Before he could get too deep into convincing himself that Baekhyun was actually a drug lord, Baekhyun returned, smile lighting back up when he saw Chanyeol exactly where he left him.

“We can go now,” he announced when he got closer, reaching out to hold Chanyeol’s arm while they walked away. “Sorry about that, it was quite an urgent matter you see. I really couldn’t put it off any longer.”

“Yeah, sure,” Chanyeol responded, still a bit stuck in his crazy daydreams.

“Do you want to go home? You can come and hang out at mine if you aren’t busy.”

Chanyeol laughed at that, finally dispelling all his ridiculous thoughts. “Very eager tonight, Byun. It’s been a long time since you actually invited me over.”

“Shut up, Chanyeol. Do you want to come over or don’t you?”

“Bossy, bossy,” Chanyeol said with another short laugh. “That’s fine with me.”

“Good.” Baekhyun tightened his hold around Chanyeol’s arm, leading him somewhat forcefully to the shop.

Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at that and said, “Wow, Baek. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so impatient to get someone in your bedroom before.”

“You know for a fact that you are never going in my bedroom again after last time.”

“That wasn’t my fault!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again un-beta'd because I'm too impatient.  
> Edit: It's been beta'd finally! Again, not many changes :)

It had been about a week since Baekhyun had gone out with Chanyeol last. Of course, Chanyeol still visited almost every day after work or during his breaks, he only worked a few buildings over after all. The only problem Baekhyun had was that the interruptions were sporadic so any of his more delicate operations in the backroom had to be put off for late nights when he knew he’d be alone.

Currently, Baekhyun was focused very hard on adding the perfect amount of moonstone dust to the thick paste in the pot on the table. He had previously set up several thin green candles around the room along with the thick white and purple ones that normally resided there; some moss agate and other stones on the table around the cauldron. This was a difficult spell to master, but should he do it then he would be left with a perfect fertilizer for his plants to flourish.

He was just about to add the last pinch when he heard the shop door open, making him jump and knock a little bit too much dust into the cauldron, which quickly started foaming up and leaking over onto the table. He picked up his wand with the swiftness only a panicked man could achieve and, with a practiced flourish, popped the contents of the cauldron into a large granite basin on the floor in the corner. He’d have to deal with the residue once it stopped bubbling uncontrollably (luckily it seemed to be slowing down as it reached the middle of the basin) and whoever had entered his shop was gone.

He snuffed the candles out on his way over to the door and opened it enough to slip out before he finally turned, fully expecting a smiling idiot to greet him enthusiastically. That was not at all the case, unfortunately.

“Uh, how can I help you?” Baekhyun asked, moving behind the cash register and giving a smile.

A gruff voice replied, the man standing opposite Baekhyun looking him up and down. His nose twitched before he said, “I’m lookin’ for a Mr. Byun.”

“Can I ask why?” Baekhyun tried, glancing at the man’s attire to see a long, thick coat and a belt with several pouches attached. Not exactly the kind of attire for this decade, but Baekhyun couldn’t blame him; he himself usually wore a long coat during chilly seasons and was never seen without his own array of odd clothing articles. He chanced a look down at himself to see that he was in fact wearing a black shirt with faint symbols on that day, a belt covered in constellations holding his trousers up and a few necklaces with beautiful pendants hanging around his neck. Not exactly keeping up with the current trends, or the trends from the past hundred years for that matter.

“Someone’s lookin’ for ‘im,” was all he said back, nose twitching again as if he was sniffing. “Smells good. Incense, is it?”

“Oh, thank you. It is.” He must have been talking about the smoke that clung to Baekhyun’s clothes and hair.

“You hear what people have been talkin’?” he asked, stepping forward to rest a thick, scarred hand on the wood. “They’ve been talkin’ of a witch around ‘ere.”

“Really now?” Baekhyun feigned innocence, suddenly chilled.

“Aye, you know the type. Waves a wand, brews up potions and plays with rocks. I ‘ear they like incense too.”

“That’s interesting, so do many people. Like incense, I mean.”

“That’s true,” the gruff voiced man said with a barking laugh. “Do you know where I can find Mr. Byun?”

Baekhyun hesitated for a moment. “No, sorry, sir. Would you like to buy anything?”

“No, I only came to look for the little bugger.” The man stood straight again, cracking his back with an impressive pop. He was taller than Baekhyun, he noted distractedly, as he caught a glimpse of silver flashing from behind one of the pouches.

“I see, I hope you have better luck elsewhere,” Baekhyun said, his smile taught.

The man left after giving a curt nod, stomping out and leaving a very shaken Baekhyun behind to come to the conclusion that the man who had just walked into his shop was a witch hunter.

Baekhyun didn’t think he should be as surprised as he was. He had been living in the same place for years, never really stopping to consider why most witches lived on the outskirts of towns and villages. His parents had lived on the very edge of a town not far from where Baekhyun lived currently, mostly keeping to themselves, but Baekhyun had moved out as soon has his parents allowed him to, right into the heart of the city. He never even considered that his parents kept out of the way so that witch hunters wouldn’t find them, but it all became very clear to Baekhyun now that there was a witch hunt for  _ him _ .

The first thing he did was slump onto the stool when the last rings of the bell faded out, resting his forehead on his hands and staring at the wood of the counter. He didn’t really know what he was going to do. His parents had warned him, that he couldn’t deny (“Are you sure?” they had asked. “You might get hunted if you’re not careful.” He just laughed them off.). If he vanished then the search would immediately zone right in on the strange shop owner, who had a mysterious back room and carried various magical charms in his shop, (not that the general person would know what they were) who suddenly wasn’t there anymore. He’d be on the run for years likely.

He didn’t want to think about leaving, it was too much for his already frazzled brain to process.

He could always stay.

It’d be near suicide, most likely, but he could. If they found him then he’d have to ward them off somehow, or fight them. No, he couldn’t fight! What a preposterous idea.

Baekhyun groaned at that, his head starting to throb. He was slightly concerned that he hadn’t had a panic attack yet.

The soft chiming of the bell of his shop startled him, lifting his head quickly, ready to fend off another witch hunter, but his entire body relaxed when he saw it was only Chanyeol.

“Yo, Baek! I brought you some pastries from the bakery you really like,” Chanyeol started, door closing behind him. “Hey, what’s up?”

He noticed, then. He’s obviously not as oblivious as Baekhyun had assumed.

“Nothing,” Baekhyun replied with a smile. “What did you get?”

Chanyeol set the bag of pastries next to the basket on the worktop. “Seriously, Baek. Don’t avoid the topic. Is something wrong?”

“No, Yeol,” Baekhyun said, giving him another of his taut smiles, “nothing’s wrong.”

Chanyeol definitely knew something was wrong as soon as he uttered the word ‘Yeol’. He never called Chanyeol that, only resorting to it in the direst of situations. That, and the fact that a terrifying man had just emerged from Baekhyun’s shop with a grumpy expression, gave him an inkling of an idea that something wasn’t right.

Nonetheless, Chanyeol relented. He wasn’t the type to push someone out of their comfort zone unnecessarily, and if Baekhyun didn’t want to talk about the angry man then he wouldn’t force him to. Sure, later he’d coax it out of Baekhyun with a few sweet words and pleading looks, but for now he didn’t deem it vitally important.

Instead, he nudged the bag towards Baekhyun, watching his smile widen and eyes turn into crescents.

“My favourite! Thank you, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, holding the bag tightly. His smile wasn’t nearly as strained now so Chanyeol took it as a victory.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I'm getting excited for what's coming next! I don't think I'll have too many more chapters here because I want it to be quite short, but maybe I'll write another later on :) Enjoy!

A few weeks had passed since the incident (as Chanyeol had dubbed it) and Baekhyun’s behaviour had only been getting weirder.

When Chanyeol went to visit Baekhyun’s shop roughly a week later, he walked in to see another man leaning over the counter, waving his hands around desperately as he half yelled, half whispered at Baekhyun. Baekhyun had his arms crossed, looking incredibly upset before he noticed Chanyeol and hissed something at the man. At that, the man looked back at Chanyeol, who was staring at them, utterly confused. He turned his head back to Baekhyun once more before storming out, his calf-length coat flapping dramatically behind him and disturbing the delicate leaves of the plants as he passed.

The door had slammed behind him, Chanyeol still gaping at it as if it would suddenly come to life and explain what was going on.

“Who was that?” was the first thing out of Chanyeol’s mouth as he approached an exhausted looking Baekhyun.

“Don’t worry about it,” Baekhyun had said, shooting Chanyeol a forced smile.

“But-”

“Please.”

Chanyeol had dropped it at that, leaving soon after when he found that he was going to struggle with getting Baekhyun’s mood back up in the short fifteen minute break he had.

Only days later, Chanyeol was sitting behind the cash register for Baekhyun while he went out to make a delivery (“It’s really desperate, Chanyeol. Could you please watch the shop for me?”). It was Chanyeol’s day off, but he didn’t mind.

He had been sitting with a slightly too small guitar that Baekhyun had acquired for his shop that day, trying to tune it to the best of his abilities when the same man who was yelling at Baekhyun days before came in.

“Uh,” Chanyeol tried, not really sure what to say when the man asked where Baekhyun was. “He’s gone to deliver something, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

The man just frowned and ran a hand adorned with rings through his hair. He wasn’t wearing a long coat this time, but he still had a similar fashion sense to Baekhyun, only less black. His acid washed jeans seemed to be the only item of clothing up to date with fashion.

“You’re free to wait,” Chanyeol said, indicating a stool near the backroom door that he usually sat on.

The man studied Chanyeol carefully before nodding and sitting on the stool. Chanyeol stared at him for a few seconds before coughing awkwardly and going back to the guitar. Chanyeol wasn’t too sure what to make of him; he wasn’t like any of his other friends (save Baekhyun), not that he’d rule it out entirely of course. He did love making friends.

“You’re not going to get it in tune,” the man supplied after Chanyeol had been at it for another ten minutes, a frown making its permanent residence on Chanyeol’s face.

Chanyeol just looked at the guitar dejectedly and sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

He looked back up when he heard a chuckle.

“Yixing,” the man said. “My name,” he carried on when Chanyeol gave him a confused look.

“Chanyeol,” Chanyeol returned.

“Good to finally meet you, Chanyeol.”

“Finally?”

“Oh yes, Baekhyun talks about you a lot.” He had a sly look in his eye that made Chanyeol a bit nervous.

“Does he now?”

The man chuckled again. “Not really, he’s mentioned you though.” He hummed. “Taller than I imagined.”

Chanyeol wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. “Uh.”

“What’s taking him so long? Doesn’t he know I have things to get back to?” Yixing asked suddenly, looking at the shop door. He was tapping one of the rings with the fingers of his opposite hand.

“Well, I don’t think he knew you’d be here,” Chanyeol said.

“Oh, I suppose so,” Yixing admitted with a laugh. “I forget he isn’t psychic, sometimes.”

Chanyeol only stared at Yixing again, more confused than ever.

“Ah, I expect that’d be him!” Yixing cried happily, jumping up and swiftly making his way to Baekhyun, who was halfway through the door by the time Yixing made it over.

“Oh, Xing, I didn’t expect you to be here today.”

Yixing’s laugh was the last thing Chanyeol heard before Baekhyun was pushed back outside. Chanyeol could only see the two talking through the glass as he fiddled with the guitar still in his hands, despondent sounding notes twanging sadly in the air. The two were having a much friendlier conversation than the last time Chanyeol saw them, actually smiling now and touching each other’s arms when they said something that must have been particularly funny.

There was a loud ping sound and Chanyeol looked down only to find that one of the strings on the guitar had snapped. It must have happened when he was picking at them too hard. Either way, he put the guitar by the other broken instruments that Baekhyun liked to keep next to the till.

It took a lot longer than Chanyeol expected for the two to stop talking and finally come back inside, leaving him to fiddle with the random things in the basket while he waited. The bell rang when the door opened, Chanyeol looking up to see that only Baekhyun was approaching.

“Thank you for staying, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, slipping his coat off and hanging it next to the door upstairs to his home. “Sorry I took so long.”

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol replied, tidying up his mess off the worktop.

“It’s nearly closing time if you want to leave,” Baekhyun announced only to see the pointed glare Chanyeol returned. “Alternatively, you can stay and we’ll watch TV until it’s far too late in the evening again.”

“I’ll take the second one, thanks,” Chanyeol said with a smile, jumping up. He was already making his way over to the stairs through the now open door when Baekhyun told him that he would be a moment. “I won’t start without you, don’t worry,” Chanyeol teased before vanishing.

The moment Chanyeol disappeared, Baekhyun slipped into the backroom. He inhaled the comforting scent of incense. He just needed a moment to clear his head and sort himself out.

It wasn’t like Baekhyun had no idea what to do; all witches had at least some knowledge about how to deal with hunters. It was the kind of thing that they learned growing up. They learned how dangerous witch hunters could be, especially the witch hunters of old. Luckily, they were less likely to carry around giant swords which made it both easier and harder for witches to deal with them. Easier because, well, they didn’t have giant swords, but harder because it wasn’t as easy to spot them now.

Baekhyun had already begun to prepare for the eventuality that witch hunters would find him. He had been spending his nights concocting potions, read through more spell books in the past two weeks that he had ever read in his entire life and gathering possible allies. He’d been visiting one of them earlier in fact, an older witch who he had come to know through his parents. She was incredibly sympathetic, taking her time to explain how she had once been hunted and she was lucky to be alive (he wasn’t that interested in the glorified tales of woe that she was carefully crafting, but he was too polite to tell her to stop). She had chosen to flee her original residence, the entire country in fact, and hadn’t stopped since then. (She mentioned something about her old bones getting too weak to let her travel much, hence why she had settled finally.)

He wasn’t too keen on the idea of leaving still, he’d made a place for himself in the community; the odd man down the road. It wasn’t an ideal place, but it was one nonetheless. He wasn’t altogether too willing to leave it.

Suddenly, Baekhyun was torn from his thoughts with a loud bang.

He glanced at the ceiling, already guessing what was wrong when he heard a muffled ‘ _ Shit _ ’.

With a long suffering sigh and a hand rubbing at his forehead, he made his way upstairs. When he got there he wasn’t surprised to see Chanyeol crouched over a pile of soil, leaves and ceramic. He cleared his throat when Chanyeol started pulling the plant from the mess, cradling it gently in his hands.

Chanyeol jumped, nearly dropping the plant as he turned around, a sheepish grin on his face. “Uh, sorry.”

“Just,” Baekhyun said with another sigh, running a hand down his face, “go and sit down.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've run out of the stuff that I wrote before, so updates will be a little bit slower (or a lot). Again, this isn't beta'd I can't actually get the document to them to read. I'll update it when they've beta'd it :)

“I’m really sorry about breaking the pot yesterday.”

“It’s fine.” It was really only a fern that he had put up for decoration.

“I got you a new one to make up for it though! I didn’t know what kind to get so I dug around for the coolest one I could find!”

Baekhyun was really expecting some sort of grass or spider plant at this point. Chanyeol’s definition of ‘cool’ was quite far from his own. While Baekhyun’s tastes were more refined – preferring delicate plants like ferns to others – Chanyeol loved the more wild ones.

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun breathed when Chanyeol carefully pulled a potted plant out of the paper bag he was holding.

Sweet berries decorated it; delicate bell shaped flowers in a pretty shade of purple between them. It was a beautiful plant and the berries looked good enough to eat, but Baekhyun was no fool.

Baekhyun made no move to take the plant that was sitting on the worktop, only stared at it. “Chanyeol, do you know what this is?” he asked slowly, glancing up to see a wide smile.

“Not really, I got it from a kind of shady guy around where you usually deliver,” Chanyeol explained.

Baekhyun looked back at the plant, horror on his face. “This plant… I cannot accept it.”

“What?” Chanyeol cried. “Why?”

“It’s a belladonna, Chanyeol! You know, also known as a _deadly_ nightshade!” Baekhyun exclaimed, stepping back until he felt the shelves on his back. “I do not want this anywhere near my shop! I do not deal with poisonous plants.”

Chanyeol’s face, which had been slowly falling from a grin to a pout, finally took on a stormy expression as he snatched the plant back up. “Fine then, I’ll find someone else to give this too.”

Baekhyun blanched. “No!” How could he let such a plant fall into just anyone’s hands? The lore might not be terribly accurate, but it was still very potentially lethal. “No, it’s fine. I’ll take it, but please, Chanyeol. Please keep yourself out of the business of buying plants from strangers.”

Chanyeol’s smile came back at that and he put the plant back on the wood.

“You didn’t touch it too much, did you? Didn’t ingest any part?” Baekhyun asked as he stepped around the counter, avoiding the plant.

“I don’t think so.”

“Thank god.” Baekhyun breathed a sigh of relief, dropping Chanyeol’s hand which he had snatched up to inspect for indications of poisoning. “Don’t ever do this again, understand?”

“Yes, mother,” Chanyeol mocked, rolling his eyes.

Baekhyun caught his eye, a fire burning deep and angry, right to his soul. “Chanyeol…”

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry! I’ll just go and buy that fern from the garden centre.” Chanyeol grumbled, relenting after staring at Baekhyun for a minute. He was unable to deal with the emotion in Baekhyun’s eyes. He hadn’t seen him this upset in a long time.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun sighed, looking back at the plant. He didn’t really know what he was going to do with it now; it’s not like he could just leave it in the shop. He considered moving it upstairs to leave it on a high up shelf in his living room, but in the end he decided that he’d just dispose of it.

What was Chanyeol trying to do? Why would he bring such a plant into Baekhyun’s shop without knowing what it was?

He hesitated.

What if Chanyeol was hoping Baekhyun himself didn’t know what it was? That he would pick the dark berries and eat them, drawn by the delicate sweetness to keep eating until he consumed a lethal dose.

Baekhyun shook his head, watching Chanyeol leave again to buy the harmless fern that he was going to get in the first place. Chanyeol wouldn’t do that. He didn’t even have any knowledge of plants as far as Baekhyun knew. He trusted that Chanyeol had probably just become too excited again and didn’t realise how dangerous the plant was. Yes, he probably just felt really, very bad for knocking over his fern and wanted to get something he thought would be better in return. Maybe he believed that the berries would make a lovely pie or a nice snack; at least it’d far more productive plant than a fern after all.

With a sigh Baekhyun sat back down on the stool, glaring at the plant sitting innocently on the counter.

~~~~~~

Baekhyun had spent the next month or so with a renewed fear of his looming fate.

He had been making a trip to the market when he saw two people walking around in the city that caught his eye. One was tall and lanky, her clothing modern and comfortable, but the hilt of a delicately carved knife poked out of her jeans. The other was stocky and she didn’t seem as bothered with blending in; her clothing was slightly outdated and the scarily large number of religious symbols hanging around her neck wasn’t a good sign for Baekhyun. They were witch hunters of course. More had been appearing as the days passed.

He wasn’t leaving his shop much anymore, cutting down on his deliveries until only the very most important were dealt with. His allies started dwindling after that though, they too were beginning to get scared; what with the overwhelming presence the witch hunters had established in the city. They didn’t contact Baekhyun so he began to assume that they had changed their mind, preferring to protect themselves over aiding him. He was upset, of course, but he couldn’t blame them. He would probably do the same thing if the threat was large enough.

Yixing had been visiting him every few days to relay news of the hunters and how close they were getting to possibly discovering him. It was scary, how fast they were progressing. Maybe this was why the other witch had fled when she was hunted.

Baekhyun was not having a good time of it, to say the least, and now he had to deal with the awful (beautiful, but awful) plant that Chanyeol had given to him.

He didn’t really have time to just let it die so he ended up burning it, noxious fumes filling the alley behind his shop and making him choke. It was gone, however, and he wouldn’t have to worry about it any longer. (Chanyeol had returned an hour after he left with yet another maidenhair fern to add to the ever growing collection in Baekhyun’s bedroom and a sullen look on his face, handing Baekhyun the delicate plant with a small “Sorry…”) Baekhyun potted the adiantum in a dark  blue ceramic pot he had still lying around, balancing it on his bedside table and far away from Chanyeol.

It seemed that Baekhyun’s concerns would not stop growing over the days much to his disappointment. The witch hunters were closing in on him, Chanyeol was unknowingly (he hoped) potentially poisoning him, his small reserve of allies was dwindling and Chanyeol was still acting strangely. Baekhyun didn’t know if he would survive until the witch hunters found him at this rate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is lacking, but I'll try and make it up in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading this :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm still too impatient to wait for this to be beta'd, so mistakes are bound to turn up. I hope you enjoy this chapter though!

It was with a heavy heart that Baekhyun flipped the sign hanging at the front of his shop to display closed in fancy writing.

His time, which had been slowly bleeding away every day, was now coming to an end.

Baekhyun had been trying so hard to find a way to save himself that he had neglected Chanyeol even. Whenever Chanyeol would visit in the past few weeks, Baekhyun would brush him off in favour of carrying on brewing dangerous and delicate potions. If he wasn’t busy around the cauldron however, he was most likely too exhausted from nights spent mastering tricky spells. As a result, Chanyeol had only tried visiting once in the past few days and his absence was affecting Baekhyun more than he would have liked to admit.

“Baek,” Chanyeol had said. He had only been there for two minutes and he already looked ready to give up and leave.

“I’m sorry, Chanyeol. I’m just really tired and I have to get this done,” Baekhyun had called as he bustled past, shuffling in and out of the backroom. He didn’t bother closing the door all the way so that Chanyeol could hear him.

“What the hell is going on, Baek? Ever since that Yixing guy started turning up you’ve never had time for anything. You’re almost as bad a Jongdae now,” he whined.

Baekhyun stopped just as he came back out of the backroom, a thin trail of fresh incense chasing him. “It’s not his fault. He’s just been helping me with something important and I really cannot ignore it.” He sighed. “We can do something now if you desperately want to, I just need to finish something first though, then we can go out.”

Chanyeol frowned, but he nodded, sitting down rather ungracefully on the stool behind Baekhyun’s cash register. “Just hurry up.”

Baekhyun shot him a tired smile before rushing back into the backroom. He carefully bottled up the last of the potion in a large glass jar, setting it to the side of the cauldron before he snuffed out the candles and grabbed his coat. He decided at the last moment to tuck his wand into his pocket; he wasn’t really sure he could guarantee either of their safety so he thought it better to reveal his identity and stay alive than be defenceless.

With a flourish, Baekhyun came back out of the room, coat settling around his legs when he stopped to shake Chanyeol, who seemed to be dozing with his head resting on his arms. “I wasn’t gone for that long,” he said. “Come on.”

Chanyeol quickly shook off the sleep that was slowly creeping up on him and grinned as he shot up from his seat, snatching up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder again. He was, of course, incredibly excited to get to finally,  _ finally _ spend some time with Baekhyun again. Despite his clumsiness, he wasn’t stupid and he could see the stress mounting on Baekhyun as the days passed. He really wanted to help Baekhyun relax a bit, forget the stresses he had been facing and have some actual fun.

“Where do you want to go?” Chanyeol asked him as Baekhyun locked the door.

Baekhyun tucked the key back into his pocket after a moment of thought. “I don’t mind too much, really.”

“As always, you give the hard jobs to me,” Chanyeol sighed, but the grin spreading across his face said otherwise. “It’s fine, I had some ideas anyway, luckily for you.”

“You’re such a gentleman,” Baekhyun shot back with a deadpan. It broke quickly when Chanyeol pouted and rubbed his eyes as if he were crying. “Don’t be such a baby; tell me where we’re going.”

“That’s a surprise!” Chanyeol announced. He slung an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders, pulling him close to his side as he laughed. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Thrilling,” Baekhyun muttered, scrunching his nose at Chanyeol when his cackle broke the calm of the empty street.

They soon found themselves wandering into a relatively quiet restaurant. That was understandable considering it was the middle of the week, the somewhat forced cheer on the employees faces not making for the best atmosphere. It was comfortable enough though when they settled at a table near the back of the restaurant.

“I like the décor,” Baekhyun said after they ordered, nodding as he looked around.

“Ah, yeah! I came by here when I was waiting for you to stop being an arse and thought you might like it,” Chanyeol explained, sipping some of the drink that they had been provided with.

The actual restaurant was strangely reminiscent of Baekhyun’s shop. There were peculiar decorations that fit in unexpected ways and plenty of old looking furniture pieces; the hues were subdued however, different from the vast quantities of vibrant colours in Baekhyun’s shop. It suited Baekhyun very nicely, Chanyeol decided.

When the food arrived, Chanyeol even decided that the gold rimmed plates matched Baekhyun well for they were delicate and pretty despite the scratches.

“So,” Chanyeol started as he swallowed a mouthful of food, “what’s been going on? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you acting weirdly.” He tagged that on the end when he saw that Baekhyun was going to protest.

Baekhyun admitted, his behaviour had been radically different since he found out about the witch hunters, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to tell Chanyeol why just yet. Instead he said, “I’ve been sick.”

“Oh?” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow.

“It came on rather suddenly, I’m very sorry I couldn’t tell you.” He offered a smile. “I was worried that you’d get too concerned and that wouldn’t be good for you, you know?”

Chanyeol’s expression turned here from a curiosity to one that was hard to read, even by Baekhyun who had known him for years.

“Yixing had been helping me recover, he was bringing medicine.”

Chanyeol didn’t recall seeing medicine when the young man visited.

“I’m nearly fully recovered, but it’s the kind of illness that never really goes away, I’m sure you understand. It would be quick to come back given the chance.” Baekhyun smiled tightly, lifting his food to his mouth.

“I see.”

Baekhyun glanced away when he accidentally caught Chanyeol’s eyes, focusing back on the food that he was pushing around the plate. He knew it was a terrible excuse, but he really didn’t know what else to say. That he’s really a witch who’s being hunted and will likely disappear within the next week? Yeah, right.

“If you’re sure,” Chanyeol relented after a few moments of a hot gaze burning into the top of Baekhyun’s head.

Baekhyun smiled again, this time genuinely. He was glad Chanyeol seemed to be letting it go, even if it was only for now. He still didn’t know how to approach the situation with his long-time friend. He trusted him, but not with the secrets of an entire world just out of reach of human’s fingertips.

The rest of the dinner went far more smoothly after Chanyeol moved on from Baekhyun’s bizarre behaviour and onto something more familiar to them, like casual flirting and teasing each other.

“My mother liked the gift, by the way,” Chanyeol announced when they started on dessert.

“I told you,” Baekhyun scoffed. “I know her.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chanyeol laughed, “you met her once. I don’t understand how you know people so well when you’ve just met them honestly.”

“Magic,” Baekhyun teases. Maybe that was a bit truer than Chanyeol thought, but he didn’t need to go there.

Chanyeol snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sure,” he drawled, “It’s still weird.”

“You’re weird,” Baekhyun shot back.

“You’re weirder-”

“Baekhyun!”

There was a shout from the front of the restaurant, drawing the attention of everyone there to the figure leaning on the door.

“Yixing?” Baekhyun asked, pushing his seat away as he got up. “What are you doing here? How did you know where I was?”

“You need to go,” Yixing hissed when he got close enough, grabbing Baekhyun’s arm. “You have to leave right now.”

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol asked, looking up at the two, mouth still half full of dessert.

“Baekhyun,” Yixing insisted, yanking on his arm.

“I don’t understand,” Baekhyun said with wide eyes. He glanced down at Chanyeol before back at Yixing, confusion barely masking the fear in his eyes.

“They found you.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very excited for the end of this, I didn't want to work on my other stuff because it'd ruin my flow with this one and I don't want to abandon it ehe. I hope you enjoy this (for now unbeta'd) chapter :)

Silence encased Baekhyun at those words.

_They found you._

Time slowed as he gaped at Yixing, grabbing desperately at his arm. He couldn’t feel his legs, only the arm that caught him around the waist before he collapsed to the floor and settled him back into his chair. He barely heard Yixing’s muted apologies, the world jerking back into action with a shaky gasp.

“H-how?” Baekhyun stuttered out, still clinging to Yixing’s arm.

Yixing was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

“Guys,” came a whine from the other side of Baekhyun. Chanyeol was fretting about, hand still at Baekhyun’s side as if he was concerned that he would topple out of his seat. “I don’t understand.”

Neither of the witches knew what to say. They wanted to avoid revealing their identities at all costs, but Chanyeol seemed as if he would stop at nothing to find out what was going on by this point. He had witnessed his best friend sink into a state of desperation with no idea why and no idea how to pull him out of it. He had been pushed away relentlessly whenever he tried to garner some sort of idea as to what the hell was happening. In his mind he must think he was entirely entitled to know what had been going on.

“It’s no-”

Baekhyun was cut off abruptly by a glare from Chanyeol as he snapped, “Don’t you dare tell me it’s nothing, Baekhyun.”

Yixing interrupted, bringing their gazes from each other to himself. “We should talk somewhere more private; people are staring.”

Baekhyun glanced around the restaurant to see that, indeed, most of the people were staring and whispering to each other. At least some had the decency to try and hide it.

“Yes,” Baekhyun agreed after a moment, standing on unsteady legs. He was somewhat grateful for the arm Chanyeol had wrapped around his waist, if not a bit embarrassed. “Let’s go.”

~~~~~~

As soon as Chanyeol paid, they left the restaurant. Baekhyun had insisted on going back to his beloved shop, but Yixing was determined to go to his house instead. He wouldn’t tell Baekhyun exactly why they couldn’t at least pass by his shop to grab some important things that Baekhyun needed, but he was firm and they soon found themselves outside Yixing’s flat.

“Give me a moment,” Yixing muttered, flicking through his strangely large collection of keys that all looked very similar. “The key is here somewhere.”

“What the hell do those even unlock?” Chanyeol whispered at Baekhyun, arm still wrapped loosely around him even though Baekhyun had claimed he was fine right after they left the restaurant. It was comforting, so Baekhyun didn’t complain. He could really use all the respite he could get.

“Who knows,” Baekhyun replied with a shrug.

At that moment the door finally swung open with a gleeful “Aha!” from Yixing.

The inside was just what one would expect from an eccentric man in a slightly rundown flat. There were piles of books with tea cups balanced on top in all the corners; bundles of herbs in baskets along the windowsill; and a frighteningly large collection of bones hanging from hooks on the walls.

“Make yourselves at home,” Yixing called from the kitchen area. “I’ll make us some tea.”

Baekhyun immediately settled down on the flowery sofa pressed against the wall, the force of his slumping into it making the bones on the wall above clack together. Chanyeol sat down a lot more carefully, eyeing the décor with an alarmed expression.

“Baek,” Chanyeol started, trailing off when he spotted an actual skull resting above where a television might have gone. The space was instead occupied by a table bowing under the weight of the plants packed on top, shelves lining the wall above it.

“Hmm?” Baekhyun was far more relaxed, almost too much so in Chanyeol’s opinion. Shock, maybe?

“Never mind,” he muttered when he saw Yixing coming back in, balancing three cups in his hand. Chanyeol, ever the gentleman, stood up and took two off him, handing one to Baekhyun before he perched himself on the edge of the sofa again.

“Baekhyun,” Yixing said, a sad smile on his face, “I’m sorry about this.”

Baekhyun sat up at that. “No, it’s not your fault. I was careless, that’s all.”

“Please, Baekhyun. You shouldn’t have to go through this.”

“Xing, don’t feel obligated to feel bad for me.”

Chanyeol was still rather confused, looking between the two. He was being entirely left out of the conversation, only Baekhyun’s hand occasionally stroking his knee briefly indicating that he even remembered he was there. The back and forth was starting to make his head hurt as well when neither would accept the other’s apologies.

They kept at it for at least half an hour, if the cold tea Baekhyun was still cradling was anything to go by. Eventually Chanyeol took the cup from him and went to what he assumed was the kitchen, picking up Yixing’s cup on the way and leaving the two to bicker as he made a fresh pot of tea.

Chanyeol was at a loss as to what he could do for Baekhyun, in all honesty. He could only guess at why they couldn’t visit his shop, however each revision of his assumption came out stranger than the last. He still wasn’t entirely willing to admit that he considered the idea that maybe Baekhyun _was_ a drug lord who ran a huge business of selling illegal substances to addicts who lived on the fringes of society in the dirty alleys Baekhyun frequently made Chanyeol wait outside of. The thought still crossed his mind, more for him to entertain and giggle to himself about than to be considered as an actual possibility.

He was pulled from his musings by the whistle of the kettle as it shook on the large Stanley oven that took up most of the kitchen area. It was ultimately the rising sound of the kettle blaring that made him scramble for the oven glove to take off the end of the kettle and pour the boiling water into the teapot. The ghastly tea cosy fit snugly around it, but Chanyeol could appreciate the cat shaped cover even with the faded stripes and general old person feel it gave. To be fair, the entire house had an old lady air, right down to the faded salmon curtains and dusty, worn carpet. It was peculiar, how familiar it felt, like he was brewing some of his grandmother’s favourite green tea in her little cottage in the countryside, not making tea for the two outlandish men who were bickering just in the next room.

As he was pouring the tea his eye caught a picture hanging over the cooker of several young boys playing in a lush garden. One was obviously a very young Yixing and it got him thinking. Yixing was a character to say the least, in Chanyeol’s opinion. If it weren’t Baekhyun who ultimately triggered Chanyeol and Yixing’s meeting, Chanyeol probably would have escaped as soon as the opportunity presented itself. As it was Baekhyun, however, he found himself falling victim to Yixing’s dimples and easy-going personality. He even considered really trying to become good friends with him, but he wasn’t so sure now. Either way, the pot had finished brewing and the quiet voices in the other room had fallen silent.

When Chanyeol walked back in Baekhyun looked positively distraught. Yixing looked even more apologetic than earlier (it was hard to believe that was possible, in Chanyeol’s opinion) and had taken Chanyeol’s place on the sofa, a comforting arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.

“Is everything okay?” Chanyeol asked, watching Baekhyun’s shoulders wobble as he took a shaky breath and wiped his eyes as subtly as he could (which wasn’t very discreet at all) before looking up.

“Yeah,” he breathed, a weak smile on his lips, “everything’s fine.”

Yet again, Chanyeol refused to believe him. It was more obvious than ever to Chanyeol that Baekhyun was the definition of ‘not fine’, but also (and more annoyingly) ‘caring to a fault’. He couldn’t possibly be fine when his eyes were puffy and red, nose rosy and face blotchy. He could hardly control his trembling hands and the gentle sounds of his too-deep breathing filled the whole room. He might not want Chanyeol to worry about whatever had been going on, but Chanyeol was sure that, by now, not much could be worse than seeing someone he loved so deeply in distress with no way to help.

“Baekhyun, how many times do I have to tell you? I just want to help; I’ve wanted to take care of you since I first met you.”

“Oh, Yeol,” Baekhyun sighed, smile turning sad. “I’m sorry, but you can’t help me anymore. I know you want to try, but, please, just let it go.”

Chanyeol gaped at that. What was he saying? Of course Chanyeol could help! He would do whatever he could to assist Baekhyun in whatever he may need. He’d probably run to the ends of the Earth to help Baekhyun if it would prevent that distressed look from coming back in his eyes.

“I think,” Baekhyun trailed off suddenly, looking back at his lap and taking Yixing’s hand from where it had been on his lap. “I think you should go home Chanyeol. There’s nothing more you can do here. No matter how noble your intentions may be, you’ll only get hurt if you stay. Please, for everyone’s sake, just go.”

“’Just go’?” Chanyeol asked, an incredulous look taking over his face. “You really expect me to just go and leave you?” Chanyeol had the strangest urge to laugh. “How can I leave you like this when I love you so much?”

The speed at which Baekhyun’s head snapped up would most certainly have made Chanyeol cackle in any other situation.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said as he stood up, Yixing’s arms falling from him. He was soon in Chanyeol’s arms, head buried in his chest as he sobbed. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know if I’ll live to tell how much you mean to me.”

“Live?” Chanyeol asked, eyes widening in surprise as he looked over Baekhyun’s head to Yixing.

“Sorry,” was all Yixing said. He looked as defeated as Chanyeol felt and the feeling of tears soaking into his t-shirt wasn’t helping. “I think it’s be best if we explained the situation.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll get it all beta'd at some point. I wanted to end the fic in this chapter too, but I then decided that a bit more drama needs to be had before it all comes to a close. It'd feel wrong to just end it. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

“You’re a what?” Chanyeol cried. He had been sitting on the sofa, Baekhyun hugged to his side as Yixing paced the room explaining. His arm tightened at the words that left Yixing’s mouth.

“A witch,” Yixing said again, ever present smile softening at the expression on Chanyeol’s face.

“You’re joking, right?” Chanyeol looked near ready to faint when Baekhyun shook his head. “A witch? For the whole time I knew you?” This time Yixing nodded. “You never thought to tell me?”

“It’s not exactly something you just bring up in conversation,” Baekhyun muttered. “I thought that maybe you had figured it out anyway, especially with that godawful plant.”

“That?” Chanyeol asked, tilting his head even. “I was convinced by some guy at the garden centre that one of those would make a perfect gift.”

“You insist you’re not as stupid as you act, but honestly I think you might be,” Baekhyun said with a laugh.

“What plant?” Yixing asked, finally perching back on the armchair.

“A belladonna,” Baekhyun replied. “He just took it right out of a paper bag.”

“It wasn’t my fault!”

Baekhyun only rolled his eyes when Chanyeol started whining. It really didn’t matter who’s fault it was anymore, the plant was gone, Chanyeol’s innocence had been proven (mostly because Baekhyun didn’t want to try and deny the watery gaze Chanyeol threw his way; he’d known him long enough for that at least) and Baekhyun’s existence as an eccentric shopkeeper was as good as done.

During the revelation of their secret Yixing had admitted that Baekhyun’s once quaint and beautiful shop now lay in ruins. He said that the shelves had been smashed, the doors broken off their hinges and all of the plants scattered and crushed. The potions he had spent weeks concocting lay useless on the ground and his beloved fern collection was piled in a corner, smothered by the useless antiques. Anything of vague value, be it because of its magical properties or just because it was worth a considerable amount of money, had been stolen and in all honesty Baekhyun was lucky that he snatched up his wand before he left or he wouldn’t possess it anymore. His home had been ruined and now Baekhyun had no choice. He had to run.

Baekhyun didn’t know where he was going to run, or how. He couldn’t possibly stay in the city, or with anyone he knew in case the hunters found him and killed whoever he was staying with. He thought back to the old woman, recounting her stories. She had fled the country and never stopped until she was too old to carry on and Baekhyun thought that maybe she had a point. Witch hunters certainly were tenacious; they didn’t usually stop until the witch’s head was on a stake.

“Where will you go?” Yixing asked during a lull in their bickering.

Baekhyun sighed, “I don’t know.”

“When are you going to leave?” It was Chanyeol that spoke this time, taking Baekhyun’s hand and playing with his fingers.

“Immediately,” Baekhyun answered. “Tonight if I can.”

“That’s so soon,” Chanyeol said. He dropped Baekhyun’s hand when he looked up at his face, a slightly lost look on his face.

“I can’t stay here; they’ll find me within days if I don’t leave tonight.”

There was a pause.

“Will you ever come back?”

If Baekhyun was brutally honest, probably not. He’d take what he could carry, flee the country and never look back.

Baekhyun’s silence seemed to be enough for Chanyeol who dropped his gaze to his hands again. Yixing had already left the room to find a bag that Baekhyun could take with him, leaving the two in a painful silence as they thought over the situation carefully.

“You can just come back when they stop looking for you though, right?” Chanyeol asked hopefully. “They’ll give up eventually and then you can come home again.”

“I can’t,” Baekhyun hissed desperately, trying to convey the urgency of the situation through his eyes. “I can’t ever come back. Witch hunters are the most persistent kind of hunters I’ve ever heard about. Remember all those stories you were told as a child? About the wicked witch who cursed the village or ate children or stole your firstborn? Well they aren’t true, not that any hunter would believe you. When you think something is the epitome of all evil in the world, you wouldn’t let a chance to rid the world of some small bit of said evil escape, would you?”

“I suppose not,” Chanyeol muttered after staring at Baekhyun for a moment.

Baekhyun just hummed and slumped back onto the sofa, not minding the creak it let out or the sound of bones rattling around despite Chanyeol’s wince. The silence, bar the sounds of Yixing humming a happy tune and rootling through his drawers, left Baekhyun’s mind to wonder once more, revisiting the same topics that haunted him for longer than he cared to remember. If he was honest, he couldn’t quite remember not having this constant, niggling fear at the back of his mind.

A mumble from Chanyeol pulled him from his thoughts.

“What was that?” Baekhyun asked. Even with some kind of sense amplifying potion or spell he would have never have heard what Chanyeol said.

He mumbled again, slightly louder, but just as fast and garbled.

“Chanyeol, please,” Baekhyun sighed, “speak up.”

“I could-” Chanyeol’s eyes flickered up to Baekhyun’s face before they fell back to his fingers rubbing rhythmically over each other.

Baekhyun made a gesture with his hands for Chanyeol to go on, starting to get worried. “What is it?”

“I-I could go,” he paused, “go with you…”

There was a much longer silence here. Baekhyun was staring at Chanyeol like he suggested they steal the crown jewels with nothing more than a twig and a piece of string.

“I mean, you’d get lonely being by yourself all the time, and I promise I wouldn’t slow you down!” He looked desperate now, clinging to Baekhyun’s hands. “You wouldn’t have to leave everything behind, then.”

“Your parents will be worried,” Baekhyun argued. He didn’t want Chanyeol giving up his life for Baekhyun. He wanted him to stay and build a strong career with a beautiful spouse, surrounded by his family and friends, right where he belonged. “It wouldn’t be fair on you to throw everything away for me.”

Chanyeol’s hopeful smile, although just tugging at the corners of his mouth, dropped. “Oh…”

“Yeol, I’m sorry-” But Baekhyun was cut off by a furious banging sound coming from outside the flat. Why were their conversations always cut off like this?

The banging, however, only got louder as it approached the door of Yixing’s flat. It sounded like someone was trying to knock the building down as they went, smacking fists against the plaster or kicking the thin walls with heavy boots. The two on the sofa could only stare as the painting hanging on the wall next to the door fell, the glass shattering and skittering across the worn carpet to lay in front of them. The banging came to a sudden stop just before the door.

The tension in the air could be cut with a butter knife. Eerie silence was all that followed for a good minute before there was an almighty crash and the door was kicked in.

On the other side was a large man with a leather trench coat and a shiny, silver dagger clutched in his scarred hand. When his dark eyes landed on Baekhyun a feral grin lit up his face. He chuckled deeply before taking a step into the flat.

“I found you,” he cackled. “Mr Byun, you put up a very good front back then. I actually believed you, ha!” He laughed again, raising the blade. “Nowhere t’ be runnin’ now, though.”

Baekhyun’s whole world came crashing down at those words.

He couldn’t run. There was nowhere to go. The whole entrance was blocked by the hunter and being on the third floor made jumping from the window unlikely.

He was trapped and they all knew it.


End file.
